The marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana was known the world over as the “wedding of the century,” but behind closed doors, the couple endured a marriage filled with strife, betrayal, and two lives separate, but intertwined.

Therefore, when the twosome announced their separation in 1992 on the heels of persistent rumors that their marriage was in trouble, it still came as a shock to fans that they had chosen to split. For four years they remained married but living separate lives as they carried on their official duties until Queen Elizabeth urged the couple to divorce, and the prince and princess reached a final agreement in 1996, reported Biography.

It was shortly after the finalization of their divorce that the couple reportedly sat down and uttered their first heartbreaking words to one another, claims royal expert Ingrid Seward in her book The Queen and Di: The Untold Story, reported The Daily Express.

Seward claims in her book that the late princess was reportedly heartbroken when she and Prince Charles sat down together on what Seward described was the yellow brocade sofa in the first-floor drawing room in the salon of her Kensington Palace apartment. Diana sadly stated to Charles, “Why did this have to happen?”

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The heartbreak was reportedly compounded over the stress their bitter breakup had caused their sons William and Harry. Ultimately, it was tasked to Princess Diana to tell the couple’s sons about their separation.

The Daily Express cited royal biographer Andrew Morton, who assisted the late princess in telling the tale of her life in the book Diana: Her True Story, who stated that William and Harry reacted as any children would to the news of their parent’s split. Morton claimed that it was shortly before a formal announcement was made to the public that Princess Diana went to her sons’ boarding school to tell them the news.

Morton claimed that “Prince Harry seemed bewildered and almost indifferent, while his older brother burst into tears.” Prince William then reportedly stated to his mother, “I hope you will both be happy now.'”

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In exchange for a monetary settlement and the right to retain her apartments at Kensington Palace and the title of “Princess of Wales,” Diana agreed in the couple’s divorce settlement to no longer have the title of “Her Royal Highness.” She would also forgo any claim to a future seat on the British throne upon the finalization of her divorce from Prince Charles.

Princess Diana would die one year after the finalization of her divorce from Prince Charles, in August 1997, after a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma road tunnel in Paris, France. The princess would die from the injuries she sustained in the crash. Her friend Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul would perish at the scene. The sole survivor of the crash was the front-seat passenger Trevor Rees-Jones.